Robert Child - Immortal Valor: The Black Medal of Honor Winners of World War II

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the seven Medal of Honor recipients.

They showed what above and beyond the call of duty truly means.

And to my children, Micky, Chloe, Joshua, and James, the four bright lights in my life. It is tough to imagine any father could love his children more.

Contents

Not a writer I know would pen an acknowledgment section at the beginning of a book; it is only done at the end, after the journey, when there is a moment to reflect. And this book has certainly been a journey, perhaps one of a lifetime.

I am so sincerely grateful that this trip was not undertaken alone. Many people helped in this herculean effort. They opened their hearts and archives to us, most specifically the families and descendants of the seven immortal heroes you have read about in this book.

Every one of these people has made this book possible. Allow me to tell you a little about them. First, I must thank my primary historian and researcher, Arthur Collins Jr. He has been invaluable throughout this effort from the very first day when we discussed the idea for this book. I have known Art for over a decade. He literally came to my rescue when I needed African American World War II reenactors for my Wereth Eleven film and later for a movie on the American Revolution. He has an outstanding organization and website at 5thplatoon.org .

Also, in the research area, I must thank Tommy McArdle for his historical vetting of the manuscript. Tommy, a military veteran, served as a historical advisor on several of my films, and he was instrumental along with visionary producer Joe Small in introducing me to Captain Dale Dye, who helped on another one of my films.

I also must thank the people who believed in this book and brought it to the world: my literary agent, Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary, who instantly supported the book, saying it was a book whose time had come, and, of course, my editor at Osprey, Kate Moore. Kate has been a tireless champion for this book through the difficult days of the pandemic lockdown in the UK, getting her team together to give this undertaking the green light.

A great deal of research went into this book, as you can imagine, and one of the genuinely outstanding writers and researchers out there who helped in this effort was Solace Wales and her book Braided in Fire. Solace spent more than 30 years digging into the story of John Fox and the Italian partisans who helped the American effort in the battle of Sommocolonia. The reason Foxs story is so accurate in this book is due to Solace. She has a dogged determination to get the history factually correct. She also introduced me to Sandra Fox, John Foxs daughter, whom I have to thank. Sandra was gracious enough to allow us to use the family photo of John, which has only appeared in print once. Staying with the family members, I also must thank Sandra Holliday, Charles Thomass niece, for her assistance with information regarding his children. Willie Rivers, Ruben Rivers youngest brother, also helped in allowing us permission to use the Rivers family photos. Margaret and Johnny Pender, the niece and nephew of Willy James Jr., must also be thanked.

One of the first people to get us in direct touch with the mens families was Laura Jowdy, Archivist and Historical Collections Manager at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and I must thank her. She provided invaluable contact information and textual archival materials, which enhanced the accuracy of the stories. The same goes for Molly Randolph, Curator at Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She offered and provided reference images and assistance, for which I am grateful. I am also indebted to Joe Wilson Jr., author of The 761st Black Panther Tank Battalion in World War II: An Illustrated History of the First African American Armored Unit to See Combat. Joe provided the photos of Captain David Williams, which have never previously been published. Joe and David were good friends, and he assisted Davids effort in securing the Medal of Honor for Ruben Rivers.

I have saved perhaps my most significant appreciation to anyone on a project to Allene Carter, Sergeant Edward Carters daughter-in-law. I set her apart. She does not take no for an answer, especially from the military, and Allene single-handedly got the government to apologize publicly to Sergeant Carter for their treatment of him during the Cold War. Allene also had the government agree to reinter Sergeant Carter at Arlington National Cemetery the day after his Medal of Honor ceremony.

Allene provided the majority of the irreplaceable photos in this book.